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Dexter Morgan
"Blood. Sometimes it sets my teeth on edge, other times it helps me control the chaos..."' ~ Dexter Morgan Dexter Morgan, the protagonist of both SHOWTIME's DEXTER and the Dexter Book Series, is a sociopathic serial killer who targets other killers (to control his Dark Passenger). By day, he is a forensic blood spatter analyst with the Miami Metro Police Department. He is the biological son of Laura Moser and Joe Driscoll and the biological brother of Brian Moser, also known as the Ice Truck Killer. Dexter is the husband of Rita Bennet( who has the son of Dexter), the adoptive brother of Debra Morgan, and the adoptive son of Harry Morgan, the police captain who taught him to survive using the Code of Harry. Dexter has developed a detailed method of killing that has allowed him to evade detection. Dexter was the true Bay Harbor Butcher, although Sergeant James Doakes was framed for the crimes. Dexter is estimated to have killed around 70 people. At the beginning of season 5, episode 1 ('My Bad,') Dexter states that he has seen 67 people die. Around 64 of these are his own victims. Dexter's actual body-count, however, is unknown. Appearance Dexter's appearance is crucial to his character as he must "blend in" in everyday life. That Face Dexter is a white male (with a tan) in his mid 30's with dirty blonde hair and light brown eyes. He's seen as an attractive man with a perfected face, with his hair altering based on the passage of time (it was at its shortest during Seasons 1 and 2, growing longer throughout Seasons 3 through 5). There are also a few beauty marks here and there. His Body Dexter is extremely fit. Just between his body and arm on his left side is a long scar, that he received as a child...as well as another scar on the shoulder of his right arm. His Normal Clothes Dexter's favorite type of pants to wear are brown khaki's, however it is not uncomon for him to wear other forms of clothing such as bluejeans or dress pants. Dexter wears just about every type of T-shirt imaginable, from a pink japanese shirt that is probably size-small (because it fits so well to his muscles) to buttoned up dresshirts and collared shirts. He has even worn a tuxedo on his wedding day with Rita Bennett. His Hunting Clothes Dexter wears an iconic Henley, a dark green shirt with a buttonable cut right at the neckline. The shirt is tightfitting, but also longsleeved (it is almost made to be thermal, thus good for any type of weather but mainly Miami weather). With his henley he also wears what appears to be brown cargo pants, as they have many pockets but fit well to his body...finally he wears a pair of boots along with the outfit. Bay Harbor Butcher Attire The true Bay Harbor Butcher clothes consists of a dark-colored apron, probably made of some thick material such as rubber. He also wears dark gloves that match this, suggesting that he has his own pair of PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) to use at his disposal, as well as a visor to protect himself from the blood. At most times, it appears that he wears his Hunting Clothes underneath his PPE but may trade in for other items. A few times he has had to improvise, one of the most infamous is when he wore a yellow "Natural Born Griller" apron with yellow dishgloves and just whatever shirt he had on at the time. Personality Dexter considers himself emotionally divorced from the rest of humanity; in his narration, he often refers to "humans" as if he is not one of them. Dexter makes frequent references to an internal feeling of emptiness, leading to many youthful attempts to "feel alive" (this was used more in the shows than the books). Dexter claims to have no feelings or conscience and that all of his emotional responses are part of a well-rehearsed act to conceal his true nature. He has no interest in romance or sex and he considers his relationship with Rita to be part of his "disguise." In the show he shows considerably more attachment and fondness for Rita than in the books. For example, in the first season he is afraid to have sex with her because he might lose her as a result; in the books he seems to view her more as a pet. There are kinks in Dexter's emotional armor, however, He acknowledges loyalty to family, particularly his dead foster father: "If I were capable of love, how I would have loved Harry." Since Harry's death, Dexter's only family is his sister, Debra Morgan, Harry's biological daughter. At the end of the first novel, Dexter admits that he cannot hurt Debra (and in an episode comically repeats in his head "I will not kill my sister" as she leaves his apartment a complete disaster when living with him) or allow Brian to harm her because he is "fond of her." He also appears to care more for Rita than he admits. Dexter likes children, finding them to be much more interesting than their parents. The flip side of this affection is that Dexter is particularly wrathful when his victims prey on children. In Dearly Devoted Dexter, Dexter realizes that Rita's son Cody is showing the same signs of sociopathology as Dexter himself did at that age, and looks forward to providing the boy with "guidance" similar to that which Harry provided him; in his way, he sees Cody as his own son. This also gives him a reason to continue his relationship with Rita who, as of Dearly Devoted Dexter, he is engaged to because of a misunderstanding. In the beginning of the third book, it has been shown that Cody is not the only one with dark impulses, as both children pressure Dexter to teach them. Dexter has come to accept his role as stepfather to both children very seriously in Dexter in the Dark, albeit in his typical fashion. For example, while on a stakeout, he begins to wonder if Cody had brushed his teeth before bed and if Astor had set out her Easter dress for photo-day at her school. These thoughts distract him while he is waiting for an intended victim, which thoroughly annoys him. Animals don't like Dexter, which can cause noise problems when Dexter stalks a victim who has pets. He is quoted as once having a dog who barks and growls at Dexter until he is forced to get rid of it, and a turtle, which hides in its shell until it dies of starvation rather than have to deal with Dexter. Cats on the other hand, as hunters themselves and creatures loyal only to themselves, are unfazed by him. Mary the Nurse's cat is an example. Dexter's personality is everchanging, now adopting a somewhat uncertain and almost "Codeless" lifestyle. His evidence has been left behind, due to some important events which had sometimes put him in dangerous situations at times. Harry has appeared a lot less frequently, almost vanishing completely after the fourth episode in Season 5. Instead he spends his time thinking to himself and about Lumen...whom he is beginning to trust enough to allow her into his life with his son and now to allow her to kill with him. Even Miguel Prado did not know as much about Dexter that Lumen is delving into, thus suggesting he fully trusts her (at least more than Miguel) and is easily willing to allow her to build a kill room with him. Dexter displays his ultimate trust in Lumen by allowing her to kill Alex Tilden. Early Life Dexter Morgan, (then Dexter Moser), was born 1970, only a few years after Brian Moser by parents Laura Moser and Joseph Driscoll. His mother, Laura, was involved in the drug trade and had a habit for painting her fingernails in different colours. Laura was a police informant for Harry Morgan, Dexter's eventual foster father and was also his lover, she was trying to get evidence against Santos Jimenez's boss. However, when Dexter was 3 years old, he and his brother Brian witnessed his mother die by the hands of three men (one of which was Santos Jimenez), along with 3 other people and was left, crying, in a pool of his mothers' blood in a shipping container for two days, with his brother Brian. This is what led to his and his brothers' sociopathy and violent tendencies. However, Dexter soon after repressed this memory and only rememebers it later in his life (during Season 1). Brian, however, did not forget the massacre of his mother and was put in a mental institution for disturbed children and also grows up to be a serial killer. Harry Morgan was the first on the scene of the crime and took Dexter, guilt-ridden for breaking his promise that nothing would happen to Laura. However he leaves Brian, possibly because he wanted Dexter to forget his past, but according to Brian it was because he was too "messed up" to take. Harry adopted Dexter Moser and gave him the name Dexter Morgan. However later, when Dexter was 7, he spots Dexter's tendency to kill neighbourhood pets and presumes that Dexter is a sociopath and a budding serial killer with an innate need to kill. From this point Harry starts to give Dexter a code and trains him to cover his tracks and to not get caught and also gives him a moral code by which to live by. He decides to channel Dexter's urges in a positive direction and teaches him to be cautious, meticulous and an efficient killer and most of all to never leave any clues. He also teaches the boy how to fake human emotions and the natural reactions that are expected of him. The central part of this code are to only kill those who are deserving of death, such as killers. Slightly later, Dexter gets a large wound in his abdomen whilst climbing over a fence to get Debra (his adoptive sister)'s football. Hereby Harry discovers that he has a very special blood type and has to find a person with the same type, after searching for many alternatives he is forced to go to Dexter's biological father, a man who presumably blames Harry for the death of his wife, Laura, and gets his blood for Dexter. Dexter still has a scar from this event. In Dexter's teenage years, Debra starts to become envious of the time that Harry spends with Dexter, feeling that she is left out when he takes Dexter hunting and not her, when really it is so that he can fuel his serial killing needs into killing animals on the hunt. She even goes as far as saying: "Sometimes I almost wish that he had never brought you home!" but apologizes for it soon after. Harry constantly has to remind Dexter of the code during these years and has to even go as far as to stopping him from lashing out at a bully at school once. Doris Morgan, his adoptive mother died of cancer when he was 16. She had been suspicious of Dexter and was the one who suggested that he be tested by a psychologist. When he reaches a sexually mature age he realises that he is uninterested in the opposite, or indeed any, sex and therefore needs instruction by his father on how to act with women. He started studying jujitsu during college. Dexter was the top of his class in medical school but gave it up to become a forensics expert. When Dexter was 21, Harry fell ill of coronary artery disease and was confined to a hospital in which Harry spots a nurse, called Mary, who kills people by overdosing them on morphine, whereby Harry gives Dexter his "permission" to kill her which would turn out to be his first kill. Here he embedded several ritualistic qualities to his kills which he would come to do again and again, such as the strapping of the victim to some sort of long and flat object, and the covering of everything in sheets of plastic, but his trademark blood-slide collection would not begin here, only later would he start that particular ritual. Dexter's second victim was a murdering pimp called Juan Rinez. Juan was arrested but let off due to a faulty warrant and Harry is enraged by this fact and tries to convince himself that he was right in training him. However, when Dexter goes on to kill him, Harry accidentally walks in on him with the dismembered body parts of Juan Rinez and vomits and unbeknownst to Dexter, commits suicide because he couldn't face up to the reality of what he had trained his son to do. Only later does Dexter discover this however. Since then Dexter has killed at least 67 people including Mary, Juan Rinez, Alex Timmons, Gene Marshall and Cindy Landon. Plot As Dexter is the title character, he is featured in every single episode as the main focus...with his sister Debra Morgan taking up the other stories. Season One At the start of Season 1, it is obvious that Dexter has settled into a steady life of ritualistic killing doubled with his life as a forensics blood spatter analyst. He is seen by his colleagues as a quirky lab geek and only one man, Sgt. James Doakes suspects him of being anything other than this. He maintains emotionless relationships in order to fit in with society and is constantly hunting for serial killers to satisfy his sadistic need to kill. At the start of the season, Brian, his long forgotten brother starts to send him friendly clues in the guise of messages as a form of friendly competition between them. He leaves puzzles in order to maybe trigger Dexter's memory of his past, such as the prostitutes with painted fingernails in homage to Laura Moser's habit and a room filled with blood, to remind him of his "birthplace". During which, Brian befriends Debra in order to get close to him under the name of Rudy Cooper. Meanwhile, Dexter struggles to keep his relationship with Rita sex-free, because he believes that if he has sex with her, she will feel his emotional dysfunctions and he starts to grow fond of her and doesn't want to blow it. Later, during a therapy session with Emmett Meridian (a future victim), he is put into a state of calm, wherein he remembers a small part of his past, seeing an image of a boy in blood. He becomes emotional and is able to sleep with Rita because of this, which makes the relationship more intimate. Come the end of the season, their relationship is very nearly normal. Later on, Brian leaves a room filled with the blood of prostitutes in order to remind him of his dark past and it opens up several memories of him in blood and later researches it and discovers that it was his mother whose blood he was in and that he not only has a brother but that his brother was with him during the massacre of his mother. But after he abducts his sister and tries to murder her he is forced to kill him for "the safety of his sister". He is very nearly heartbroken by this because he has killed the one person who truly saw him for what he was and didn't turn away from him. Season Two 38 days have passed since the death of his brother, and he cannot kill because Doakes has been stalking him. Dexter becomes distracted after the death of his brother and loses his ability to kill momentarily at the start of the season. He realises that this is because he needs to say goodbye to his brother and move on. From this point Dexter starts to become more in contact with his emotions, but still, by no means, emotionally adept. Debra, traumatised by her ordeal with the Ice Truck Killer, moves in with Dexter, much to his annoyance and hinders his killing even further. Also, his bodies are found and every person in his station start searching for the elusive "Bay Harbour Butcher", which is Dexter. His relationship with Rita starts to become very shaky and he is forced to admit (falsely) that he is a heroin addict in order to cover for his being a serial killer and he starts going to Narcotics Anonymous programs for her as part of his cover. When he starts dating his sponsor, Lila Tournay, the relationship ends and from Lila he learns how to pleasure a woman and interact with them. He eventually ends up killing her for her murder of James Doakes and other murders from arson. Dexter frames Doakes for his crimes, escapes the justice system and gets back with Rita at the end of the season. At the very end of the season he decides to begin his own code and to try new methods, different to Harry's original idea. Inability to kill At the start of Season 2 Dexter still hasn't fully recovered from his brothers death and shares his apartment with his sister Debra. Dexter is being stalked by Doakes, who believes that Dexter is somehow connected to the Ice Truck Killer. That's why Dexter is unable to kill somebody and spends his time doing various other activities, like going bowling with Masuka and Batista, which he is seen doing during first minutes of show. Dexter really wishes to kill somebody and when he sees that Doakes, who has been stalking him, has left he uses this opportunity. Dexter goes to blind voodoo priest, named Jimmy and attempts to kill him but finds he is unable to do so and simply lets him go. Dexter then returns to his home. Dexter begins to feel cursed thinking that he can't do anything right anymore. Next morning Dexter arrives at a crime scene still frustrated about last night. There he sees that apparently a gang member has been killed. His mother who is also present at the crime scene runs to her son and says few words in Spanish to Dexter. Batista says that she said that her son was killed by someone named Little Chino and that she wants Dexter to kill him like a dog. Dexter sees this as a challenge, a "mountain to climb," to get over his peformance issues. After Chino comes to the police station Dexter is sure that he will be his next victim. Dexter manages to convince Doakes that he will be playing bowling all night and makes him leave while in reality he plans to kill Little Chino. Dexter stalks Chino to a tattoo parlor where he kidnaps him and takes him to Jimmy's shop. Dexter then ties him to the same table where he had tied Jimmy and takes blood sample from him, but Chino suddenly awakes and manages to break the plastic wrap and escape, leaving Dexter frustrated. Season Three Rita discovers she is pregnant, informing Dexter that she will keep the baby and raise him with or without his help. He ends up proposing marriage to Rita, which she accepts. While stalking a murderous drug dealer, "Freebo", Dexter stumbles upon a fight between Freebo and another man, whom he is forced to kill in self defense. This victim turns out to be Oscar Prado, brother of Miguel Prado (Jimmy Smits) a prominent assistant district attorney and old flame of Lt. LaGuerta. Miguel comes to confide in and trust Dexter after he helps assist with the case. Eventually, Dexter tracks down Freebo and kills him, but as he leaves he encounters Miguel, who has followed a lead to Freebo's location. Dexter tells Miguel he had discovered Freebo and killed him in self defense, but instead of reprimanding him, Miguel thanks him and offers to help him cover up the crime. As Dexter and Miguel cooperate to conceal Freebo's true demise from everyone else, the duo end up becoming close friends, as do Rita and Miguel's wife, Sylvia. Dexter later kills a murderer Miguel had complained about before. Miguel admitted mentioning the man on purpose to test if Dexter would go after him, but instead of arresting him, he praises Dexter for killing another criminal and offers his aid in the future. Trying to discourage Miguel, Dexter proposes a risky operation to free an infamous Aryan Brotherhood leader from prison in order to kill him. Miguel agrees with the idea and the plan succeeds, but Dexter still performs the kill on his own. Dexter starts to recognize Miguel as his first and only true friend, to the point of inviting him to be his best man at his wedding. While the MPD investigate a serial killer, "The Skinner", who skins his victims alive, Miguel and Dexter's partnership takes a new step when Miguel offers to be the one to kill their next target. With some reluctance, Dexter agrees, only watching as Miguel kills without hesitation. The next day, Ellen Wolf, a ruthless defense attorney and old courtroom adversary of Miguel's, goes missing, and Dexter discovers that Miguel has killed her alone using the code Dexter taught him. Dexter also learns that Miguel has been manipulating him since the beginning to learn his secrets, having never trusted him at all. The police investigate the death of Ellen Wolf and capture The Skinner. Meanwhile Dexter and Miguel race to have leverage over one another. Dexter realizes that Miguel cannot be allowed to run loose any longer, at which point Dexter decides to kill him and make it look like The Skinner did it. Meanwhile, Miguel uses his position to help The Skinner escape police custody in return for his agreeing to kill Dexter. Miguel discovers that LaGuerta was investigating him and decides to kill her, but Dexter discovers Miguel's plot and captures him. Before killing Miguel, Dexter confesses to him that he was the one who killed Oscar. Dexter successfully frames the Skinner for Miguel's murder, but Miguel's other brother, Ramon, becomes suspicious of Dexter. After pointing a gun at Dexter during a dinner with Rita, he is taken into custody. During a visit to him in jail, Dexter helps Ramon put his demons to rest without revealing what he or Miguel really did together. On the night before his wedding, Dexter is captured by The Skinner, but breaks free by taking advantage of a moment when the Skinner is distracted, shattering his hand in the process. After a short but vicious fight, Dexter snaps The Skinner's neck and make it look like suicide by throwing his body before a moving police car. Dexter gets his broken hand put in a cast and attends his wedding. Season Four In season four, Dexter and Rita are married and have a child together, Harrison. The season follows Dexter's attempt to adapt to married life in suburbia while searching for a serial killer dubbed "The Trinity Killer," who has been killing in cycles of three for nearly 30 years. After he predicted Trinity's third kill, Dexter attempted to crash Trinity's murder. Even though Dexter was unsuccessful in his attempted kill, he identifies Arthur Mitchell as Trinity by following him home, where he discovers Trinity has a wife and two children. Intrigued by Trinity's ability to blend into society while continuing to kill for so long, Dexter puts off his decision to kill him and instead tries to befriend him. They later meet at a the church where Arthur preaches, with Dexter under the alias "Kyle Butler." Dexter slowly gains Arthur's trust while hoping to learn some of Trinity's secrets for maintaining his dual-life. As time passes, Dexter learns that Trinity's "normal" home life is not as perfect as it appears on the outside, with his wife and children emotionally and physically abused into obedience. While ignoring several chances to kill Trinity, Dexter attempts to prod him for information causing severe emotional reactions from him, which lead Mitchell's daily life and their relationship to become highly unstable. In a heated moment, Dexter reveals his motives to kill Arthur but is interrupted before he can do anything. Trinity is able to discover Dexter's real identity and confronts him at the station. Trinity threatens to destroy Dexter's life if he doesn't leave him alone and attempts to flee the city. The following day, however, Dexter is able to catch up with Trinity and kill him. When Dexter goes home to get his bag for his honeymoon with Rita, he finds her dead in the bathtub, the last victim of Trinity. Season 4 end with Dexter carrying a blood-covered Harrison out of the bathroom with a distraught look on his face. Season Five In Season 5, Dexter is still in shock from Rita's death. He continues to kill people and struggles to accept the fact that professionals have told him that Harrison is going to be perfectly normal. Dexter begins to hunt a Boyd Fowler (A man who responds to reports of roadkill and cleans up after it). He befriended Boyd and after a short while killed him unbeknownst to Dexter, Boyd had been holding a young woman prisoner and she witnessed Boyd's murder. Dexter tried to persuade her that he would not hurt her but she refused to believe him and broke free. Dexter chased her through the woods and she came out onto a road while trying to get someone to pick her up. A car stopped but it was occupied by a few teenage boys, remembering her imprisonment she turns down the offer of a ride thus allowing Dexter to re-capture her. Dexter brings her to the site of where Boyd had been disposing of his victims and shows her exactly what he saved her from. Insisting for her to trust him, he even handed her a knife (which she promptly cut his arm with but patched up afterwards) and she allowed herself to confide in him her troubles. Lumen had been raped by a Group of men, unsure of the exact number and was bent on revenge for what they did to her. Throughout the following days Dexter tries to convince her that going down this path will not end well for her but she insists on following it regardless, going so far as to nearly kill an innocent man named Robert Brunner because he happened to be a rapist that associated himself with Boyd Fowler but it's uncertain whether or not he actually took place in any of the rapes. After this mishap, Dexter believes he convinced her to head back home from where she originally lived and leaves her at the airport trusting in this. Little does he know that during his next attempted kill on Lance Robinson that Lumen is still in town...and has gone after another man she believes to have attacked her. Now dealing with his potential next kill trapped in his van and Lumen's mess, he races to the scene to help her deal with the man she apparently killed...only to find him missing. The two search the area, bickering over why she did this again but she claims up and down that he is in fact one of the men due to a distinct smell that he carries. Little does Dexter know that his sister Debra Morgan is on the way with the police to investigate the possible homicide that took place and that means he has less time to operate. They eventually find the man, named Dan Mendell and as Dexter battles to control Lumen's intense hatred for the man...he learns the truth that Dan is in fact one of the rapists due to a phone call he makes to possibly Cole Harmon. Dexter, having heard enough, snaps Dan's neck and helps her clean the area of blood and prints...now ready to get his van so they can move the body. As he does this, Lance Robinson (the man he had trapped in the back of his van shrinkwrapped) bursts out and makes a run for it. Dexter gives a quick pursuit, unknowingly heading straight for his sister and the other officers. He manages to catch and choke the life out of Lance just before he reaches the corner that they're at, quickly disposing of his body in a unique fashion. Switching fast to his work attire, he comes out of the building where Dan was killed to show them what he managed to find...Dexter had set it up that Lance and Dan killed themselves, which thanks to Vince Masuka's "autoerotic mummification" theory...secures Dexter from being caught yet again. It does not take long for the rest of The Group to arise...one of their top members, Cole Harmon, heads to the swamp to secure the remaining bodies of the women and dispose of them properly...only to end up in an accident by a drunk driver. Quickly fleeing the scene, the bodies are discovered and Dexter is brought to the scene to investigate...wanting to find these men before his forensic team does. When the truck is associated to inspirational speaker Jordan Chase, both he and Cole arrive at the Miami Metro Police Department to answer questions. Dexter gets a chance to meet and snap a photograph of each man, only one of them is recognized by Lumen (that being Cole) and Dexter prepares his next kill. Both he and Lumen arrive at one of Chase's conventions, with Dexter sitting in and watching Cole during a seminar it is not long before Chase notices him and has Cole retrieve him. Dexter meets Chase once more and learns of his interest in the Trinity Case (which lead to his wife's murder), somewhat blindsiding Dexter in their brief re-encounter. Dexter later prepares to kill Cole that night but fails to do so when he discovers a lady friend enjoying an sexual encounter with him...so he postpones the kill for the next day. Preparing a plan to grab Cole at an elevator, he waits in at a seminar once again as Cole departs for his rounds. As he is about to leave Chase calls him up to the stage, shocking Dexter and pulls him into the spotlight...to discuss his grief over his wife's murder. Dexter, now for the first time put in the open about his emotions and despair, stands on the stage expressing how he felt losing her...and Chase watches on, with a smile and intense interest in his story. While this is going on, Cole manages to spot Lumen and chases her through the hotel..eventually getting to their conjoining rooms. As she locks the door, feeling as if she's safe once again...he bursts through from his own room and tackles her to the floor. Dexter, who took the first opportunity to get off stage, makes his way after Cole and manages to save Lumen's life before the life is choked out of her. He prepares the kill, attempting to discover the identities of the remaining members but receives nothing...allowing Lumen to watch on as he snuffs the life out of Cole with his blade. Just before leaving the seminar with bodyparts in tow, Dexter encounters Chase one last time and hears a signature line that pinpoints his interest on the man..."tick tick tick, that's the sound of your life running out"...though in this case it has to do with finding opportunity...in Lumen's case, it actually meant her time was drastically short before they intended to kill her. Now with Chase in his sights, Dexter begins meeting him regularly to find some sort of evidence of how he's connected to the rape of Lumen and the other girls. He finds an interesting angle in a blood vial that Chase wears around his neck and only removes when he goes to shower after a workout, intending to get a sample upon their next meeting. Meanwhile his stepdaughter Astor Bennett suddenly returns to Miami at her mother's old house, meeting Lumen in a surprising turn of events. Dexter arrives on scene and questions what's going on, to learn that his daughter has pretty much turned into a rebellious teen drinking and cussing. Acting as a stern father would, he scolds her to a degree but nevertheless cares for her now...it becomes very complicated with Lumen in Dexter's life, as Astor views this as a terrible thing to have a woman like her around (especially after little Harrison says "Mama" when in reality he meant the toy he was holding). It's not long before Astor's friends father, Barry Kurt arrives on scene, resulting in a conflict first because Dexter thinks he kidnapped them...and then later after Dexter learns that Barry is in fact an abusive father that hurt his daughter's friend multiple times. Enraged, Dexter arranges a meeting in an ally to discuss something...but showing just how human he is, Dexter beats up Barry in a way that only Dexter can - by going after someone's kidneys and liver, winning the fight in less than 10 concentrated hits that made Barry absolutely helpless and in a way, probably in some of the worst pain he's ever felt. Dexter then demands that he leaves his girlfriend (being the friend's mother) and disappear from their lives forever, otherwise things won't turn out so pretty their next encounter (likely resulting in Dexter killing him, he's already killed a pedophile who was stalking Astor...so a dangerous man like Barry would be no problem for him). He then drives his daughter home, finally telling her that he loved her...where she finally understands his true feelings and comes more to accept him as his father. He comes inside to meet up with Cody again and lets them be as he returns to Miami, where the other events start taking their toll (during the Barry incident, he also received the blood sample from the vile that Jordan had...and found out it relates to Emily Birch, but Jordan now knew of Dexter's involvement...and calls Lumen up, leaving her terrified). They investigate this angle in Emily Birch, finding out about Eugene Greer (his real name) in the process and relation to their next target...Alex Tilden. Dexter allows Lumen to kill this man, showing that she is capable of assisting him in his murders...and Dexter starts to believe in having a partner again (since Miguel). But things are becoming heated...Stan Liddy has been following Dexter and has witnessed a few things that finally make him act, kidnapping Dexter while Lumen visits Emily as part of Jordan Chase's trap. The confrontation with Liddy ends in his death, as per self defense and he is nearly discovered by Joey Quinn who Dexter at this point really doesn't want to have to kill as well to protect himself (likely for his sister's sake). Quinn leaves (not before having a drop of Liddy's blood hit his shoe) and Dexter runs to where Lumen was at, only to discover a now dead Emily Birch (who Jordan killed out of frustration) and a missing Lumen, is giving up a fight. Dexter...now fueled with an intense rage, readies himself for a final conflict to save Lumen and kill Chase. Dexter races home, calling Chase who is also on the road heading to his camp ground. The two discuss what he wants and tries to bargain some way to set her free, but Jordan simply laughs and tells him there's nothing he can do...he ends the call and Dexter reaches home, grabbing up his kill tools only to be caught by his family arriving for Harrison's birthday. The toll of everything that's happening is clear in Dexter's expression, he's exhausted...worried, truly fearing what might happen to Lumen...but he spends his time for a short while with his family only to be called away once more to the scene of Stan Liddy. This distraction, while frustrating, has to be investigated to insure that nothing happens to him. Unfortunately Quinn is suddenly the prime suspect, something that Dexter doesn't have time to deal with at the moment and makes his way to Jordan's camp..only to fall into a trap where he's caught and thrown down the stairs. Preparing to kill them both, he lectures them...observing the kill tools in fascination only to see that one is missing. Dexter who has freed himself uses one of his weapons to stab Chase in the foot and he and Lumen work together to knock him out, strapping him to the table and that is where Lumen gets the final kill after Jordan's smug confession. Debra, who has been following the vigilante killings of these men, arrives on scene and while conflicting with herself...holds her own brother at gunpoint through a plastic sheet (thus unable to see him). She tells them how beautiful it is, what they have together...and while crying, she decides to let them both go...providing them both enough time to escape with Jordan's body. Some time after she and her brother discuss what might happen to Quinn and feeling that he has to do this for his sister, he tampers with the evidence thus clearing Quinn's name. Finally, after disposing of Chase, Dexter learns from Lumen that her urge to kill and virtually, her Dark Passenger, has vanished forever...and they promptly break up...with Dexter truly upset as she decides to go her seperate way from him. Near the end, a party for Harrison is held and he meets with Astor again...with her asking if helping Lumen was a way to cope with her mother's death and he agreed, feeling he did help her in the end...and Quinn thanks him for helping clear his name. As the season closes out, Dexter looks towards the camera...now vowing to move on from both Rita and Lumen forever, he blows out the candle...saying that "Wishes are for children". Season Six A year has passed since the last season's events, Dexter has fully moved on from his wife's death and breakup with Lumen...but now he has to find something to pass onto his son. In dealing with religious target Joe Walker and learning of a series of new murders by a mysterious killer, Dexter begins to contemplate what he should pass on to young Harrison. He begins to look on religion, seeing if this value might be something purer than the Dark Passenger he has deep inside. Now with nanny Sonya gone, he hires a new one in Batista's younger sister Jamie Batista and enrolls young Harrison into a school (likely where he will meet Lisa Marshall). Dexter is set to meet a variety of new characters this season, with the theme being religion...one of these men is Brother Sam Wright, an ex-con gone Man of God who seems to still be involved in crime and another being Professor Gellar, a mysterious older man who both teaches at a university...and happens to be the new serial killer in town, with follower Travis Marshall. The Kill Dexter is not Dexter because he spends his day in a laboratory analyzing bloodslides. He is a serial killer that actively hunts targets that fit his desires, specifically matching what he calls the Code of Harry. Dexter prepares for each kill by locating a target that fits the code (specifically, someone who has committed murder and has shown little to no remorse for it, a sinner by society's eyes), where he'll then research the potential victim until finding evidence linking them to some crime in their past (or something Dexter's currently investigating that has to do with him or someone close to him). When he confirms that his kill is legit, he'll create a Kill Room to commit the act that he calls "The Ritual", which in short involves him killing his victim in one of various fashions. The room is wrapped entirely in sheet-wrap and plastic, with a table (or object that can be used as one) set in the center while pictures and/or other items are left situated on the walls in clear view around the table (typically they represent past victims or potential victims of his target). The entire reason the room is wrapped up like this is to prevent blood and trace DNA evidence from being left at any specific area and the momentos kept from the targets victims are to show them the monster they are before he takes their lives away. With the room ready, Dexter tracks his target and injects them with M99 (an animal tranquiliazer) in safety away from crowds...unless he is not given any sort of choice and is forced to improvise. If he cannot use M99, Dexter is known to incorporate knockout procedures caused by either a sleeperhold or physically beating his target over the head with a blow capable of rendering them unconscious. The victim is then transported via his vehicle (or the target's vehicle, unless the victim is caught at the kill room site itself) to the Kill Room, where they're stripped naked (on most occassions, sometimes Dexter makes exceptions either due to time or perhaps he has other plans with the body) and strapped to the table via plastic wrap and in some cases, thick sheets of duct tape. Dexter awakens his target, explaining to them their crimes and has a deep moment of personal "release" with each victim. Dexter demonstrates a lot of personality during the rituals, with some people he shows off a sense of deep relief to finally capturing them or perhaps the kill is meant to return him to his routine...while other victims he'll show anger, on various levels. If it is a person he truly cannot stand, he will yell at them and question their actions while violently jabbing his finger inbetween their eyebrows...holding it there for pressure before removing it and going for a weapon. In some cases, such as Jordan Chase, he'll even apply pressure to the victims eyes before moving back...though he doesn't do enough damage to render them incapable of seeing. Only a few targets has he shown remorse for, specifically the first three Season antagonists (which progressively went from pure remorse, remorse and relief, then mostly anger with a bit of remorse in losing a friend) while the fourth and fifth antagonists felt like a justice to both himself and the world. In the midst of this conversation, he'll almost always cut a line on their right or left cheek (typically the left) to draw blood...which is then placed in a bloodslide for his collection. Dexter did this for sport for most of the first few seasons, but either due to sudden changes in his plans or otherwise...he has almost stopped taking the slides altogether (except in Boyd, Cole and Alex Tilden's case...though Boyd was stored in a "petry dish", probably because he did not possess a bloodslide on him at the time). Finally...after speaking with the victim and either getting their admitted guilt or otherwise, Dexter will end their lives. He does this in a variety of ways which can include a powersaw to the neck, decapitation by a clever or choking by wire. Most recently, he has become accustomed to a almost religious form of sacrifice by stabbing each of his victims in the chest with some sort of blade...almost abandoning his older methods of execution. However, by stabbing each victim in the chest...this allows Dexter to feel their life slip away just beneath his blade and ultimately has more of an emotional effect on him than the previous methods...which felt exterior, almost like shooting someone from a distance. With the victim dead, Dexter will proceed to dismember their body (usually cutting limbs in two pieces and leaving the torso either completly intact or partially intact, the head always being seperate). He'll place each part in a black, heavyduty trashbag along with the plastic wrap covered in blood from his slaughter. After the entire kill room has been packed up in the black trashbags, Dexter moves the bags into his car (or the victims car), where he'll proceed to take them out to a harbor where his boat (Slice of Life) is kept. Dexter will take the bags out to sea, dropping them in a specific location each time (originally in Bay Harbor for the first season and before, he moves to a different location that moves the bodyparts upstream through a rivercurrent). On some rare occassions, Dexter will dispose of the bodyparts in other ways such as by alligator or in a swamp. Apart from his ritual killings, Dexter has made many on-site killings that were either of the moment or necessary. These include strangling, death by gunshot, stabbings, neckbreaking and otherwise. Most of these victims are discovered by police due to the fact that Dexter took no provisionary action to dispose of their body...and instead improvises a plan to protect himself and get rid of the evidence (via the police). Crimes Despite how Stan Liddy describes him as "squeaky clean on paper," Dexter has committed many crimes, besides murder. All of them have something to do with his status as a serial killer. Some of the crimes are: *'Breaking and Entering/Trespassing -' normally committed as part of his ritual *'Stalking/Unlawful use of his Police database access - '''normally comitted as part of his ritual *'Arson -''' Burnt everything in his storage unit/Shiping container *'Destruction of private property -' breaks things that annoy him/cause problems with his kill ritual *'Abduction/Unlawful Imprisonment/Detainment -' normally committed on victims/threats to his disguise *'Assault and Battery -' normally committed on to-be victims *'Unlawful possession of tranquilizers and other 'knock-out' drugs -' used for victims *'Interfering with police investigations/Tampering with evidence -' normally done to cover his/someone close to him's footsteps; uses aliases regularly *'Burglary/Grand Theft Auto -' occassionally steals possessions of victims; stole a car to persue Jordan Chase *'Numerous counts of moving/stationary traffic violations/Hit-and-Run accidents -' normally committed when in pursuit of victims/people of interest In the novels Much of Dexter's character is similar in the novels. However there are differences between the events that occur in the novels and in the TV series. History When Dexter reaches a sexually mature age, he realizes that he is uninterested in sex and needs instruction by his father on how to act with women. When Dexter was 18, Harry fell ill of coronary artery disease and was confined to a hospital where Harry spots a nurse who kills people by overdosing them on morphine. Harry gives Dexter his permission to kill her. However, Harry realises he made a mistake when Dexter returns. Darkly Dreaming Dexter Near the end of the first book Brian and Dexter meet in a storage container similar to the one they were held in as children, and Brian recounts what happened. He says that one of the bodies they were surrounded by could have been their father for all they knew. Deborah is awake when Dexter arrives at the cargo container, and she learns of Dexter's hobby as a serial killer. After the death of Detective LaGuerta, Deborah begins to accept Dexter. Dearly Devoted Dexter During Dearly Devoted Dexter, Dexter is forced to 'wear' his disguise all the time after finding out that Seargent Doakes is following him, trying to catch him in the act of killing somebody. In desperation, Dexter tries to find something out about Doakes that might be useful in getting Doakes off his tail. However, he finds out very little. Dexter realises that Doakes and Kyle Chutsky know each other after Doakes has Captain Matthews call in help from Washington when a still-alive and heavily-dismembered body is found. Dexter learns from Deborah and Chutsky that Doakes served in a black-ops mission in El Salvador, and he also learns about Dr. Danco, the man responsible for the mutilated body. However, Chutsky himself is taken and Deborah pleads with Dexter to find him. Not long after, Dr. Danco sends Deborah Chutsky's finger with the ring still attached. Dexter keeps the ring to give back to Deborah, but Rita finds it and believes that Dexter was meaning to propose to her. Dexter, Deborah and Doakes work together to try to find other members of the El Salvador unit. During a chase through Miami, Dr. Danco runs Dexter and Deborah off the road, and it is left to Dexter to find Dr. Danco and Chutsky. Dexter and Doakes set up a trap to lure the doctor. The trap works too well - Dr. Danco takes Doakes. Dexter traces Doakes' cell phone to an alligator farm where he finds Chutsky and helps him escape, but Dr. Danco escapes with Doakes. Deborah and Chutsky ask for Dexter's aid in finding Dr. Danco once more, however Dexter himself is captured by Dr. Danco and it is only due to the timely arrival of Deborah and Chutsky that saves him. Dexter in the Dark In Dexter in the Dark, the third novel of the series, it is revealed through third person narrative of an entity referred to as "IT" that the Dark Passenger is an independent agent inhabiting Dexter, rather than a deviant psychological construction. Later, Dexter realizes the Dark Passenger is related to Moloch, a Middle Eastern deity worshiped in Biblical times. The Dark Passenger is one of Moloch's many offspring; Moloch had many children (formed through human sacrifice), and learned to share its knowledge with them. Eventually, there were too many, and Moloch killed the majority; however, some of them escaped into the world. In the novel, Dexter learns of the Dark Passenger's true nature when it briefly "leaves" him, frightening him into researching possible reasons for its existence. Dexter comes to accept his role as stepfather to both children very seriously in Dexter in the Dark, albeit in his typical fashion. For example, while on a stakeout, he begins to wonder if Cody had brushed his teeth before bed and if Astor had set out her Easter dress for picture day at her school. These thoughts distract him from hunting an intended victim, which thoroughly annoys him. Dexter by Design Dexter by Design is the fourth book in Jeff Lindsay's series about Dexter Morgan, a Miami blood spatter analyst and vigilante serial killer. Here, Lindsay deviates from the supernatural subtext of the previous book, Dexter in the Dark, and focuses on the psychological suspense. The book opens in Paris, with Dexter and Rita on their honeymoon. There, while visiting an art gallery, Dexter and Rita are introduced to the concept of body parts being used as art by an avant-garde performance piece called "Jennifer's Leg" in which the artist amputates her own limb. When they return to Miami, Dexter crosses paths with two new enemies; a suspicious homicide detective, and a new serial killer in town targeting tourists. Dexter is Delicious In Dexter is Delicious, Dexter finally decides to give up his dark hobby after witnessing the birth of his daughter Lily Anne. He believes that for the first time in his life he is feeling genuine emotion. During the novel, Dexter is reaquainted with his brother Brian, who knows about Dexter's child. Dexter struggles with the burden of feeling emotions while attempting to give up his serial killing life. At one point, Dexter indulges himself after getting angry, but he immediately vows not to do it again. At the end of the novel, Dexter sets out to kill Bobby Acosta, the cannibal son of a city commissioner who gets away with murder and cannibalism, after Deborah realises that Bobby's father will simply pay for the entire thing to disappear. Notes * Dexter amuses himself with puns about his serial killing, at significant risk to himself. He bought animal tranquilizers using the name Patrick Bateman, the serial killer from American Psycho. His boat (purchased in the Early Cuts short series) is called Slice of Life. * Dexter takes virtually no countermeasures against leaving digital trails and electronic evidence. He frequently takes phone calls at or near the site of a kill. He also performs searches on potential victims and associates using his work computer. It's shown in Season 3 that at least some of these searches are logged; Miguel Prado discovers that Dexter searched for info on his brother Oscar Prado, and later that Maria LaGuerta searched for info on him as well. He also left Rita's GPS device in her minivan, which allowed Lila to track down Santos Jimenez's Everglades cabin and discover an imprisoned Sergeant Doakes as well as Dexter's secret life as a serial killer. * The young Dexter was played by Dominic Janes, while a teenaged Dexter is played by Devon Graye. * In preparation for his kills, he wears his trademark pants and long sleeve shirt. These clothes stay the same during all five seasons. * Dexter used to skate. *Dexter is very skilled in jiu jitsu and other grappling techniques. *At the end of each season, he usually ends up killing someone important to him. He also changes his way to kill them. -Season 1: Brian Moser; Used Brian's own ritual to kill him, and mourned his death. -Season 2: Lila West; Used anesthetics to make her death painless. -Season 3: Miguel Prado; Killed him with a wire. -Season 4: Arthur Mitchell; Killed him with his old fashion trains, his favorite song, and with a Hammer which formed part of Arthur Mitchell's own ritual. -Season 5: Jordan Chase; Though Dexter does not actually kill Jordan himself, he does assist Lumen in the murder. Jordan appears to be strapped to the table with improvised materials rather than the traditional wrap. However, wrap is still used to hide the room (and their faces) when Deb appears. *In Season 3, Episode 7, Easy as Pie, Dexter is shown golfing with Prado. Dexter's stance and swing suggests that he is left handed. Yet, in the same episode, Dexter is obviously right handed by the way that he handles the syringe, the way he feeds Camilla, and even down to the wrist he wears his watch on. Also, in other episodes, Dexter uses his right hand during "play time." It is also possible that Dexter is ambidextrous, and has the ability to use both hands equally. However, this is uncommon. There are many athletes in golf, baseball and hockey, who swing from the left side despite being a right handed person in everything else. Victims Being one of the most successful serial killers in Miami, Dexter has a kill list to admire. Below is a list of chronological deaths by his hand, either through ritual or other means. *Mary - Pre-Season 1 *Gene Marshall - Pre-Season 1 *Juan Rinez - Pre-Season 1 *Robert Milson - Pre-Season 1 *Peter Thorton - Pre-Season 1 *Alex Timmons - Pre-Season 1 *Alan Matherson - Pre-Season 1 *Adam Rowe - Pre-Season 1 *Alfred Norris - Pre-Season 1 *Buck Forester - Pre-Season 1 *Cindy Landon - Pre-Season 1 *Jeff Linder - Pre-Season 1 *Joseph Cepeda - Pre-Season 1 *Marcus White - Pre-Season 1 *Matt Parker - Pre-Season 1 *Michael Rose - Pre-Season 1 *Oscar Sota - Pre-Season 1 *Renzo Sansanal - Pre-Season 1 *Robert Thatcher - Pre-Season 1 *Thomas Hillstat - Pre-Season 1 *Marcetti - Pre-Season 1 *Mike Donovan - Season One *Jamie Jaworski - Season One *Matt Chambers - Season One *Jorge Castillo - Season One *Valerie Castillo - Season One *Emmett Meridian - Season One *Brian Moser - Season One *Little Chino - Season Two *Roger Hicks - Season Two *Ken Olson - Season Two *Santos Jimenez - Season Two *Jose Garza - Season Two *Esteban Famosa - Season Two *Teo Famosa - Season Two *Lila West - Season Two *Carnival Worker - Pre-Season 3 *Oscar Prado - Season Three *Fred "Freebo" Bowman - Season Three *Nathan Marten - - Season Three *Ethan Turner - Season Three *Clemson Galt - Season Three *Camilla Figg - Season Three (mercy) *Miguel Prado - Season Three *George Washington King - Season Three *Benito "Benny" Gomez - Season Four *Zoey Kruger - Season Four *Jonathan Farrow - Season Four *Stan Beaudry - Season Four *Arthur Mitchell - Season Four *Rankin - Season Five *Boyd Fowler - Season Five *Dan Mendell - Season Five *Lance Robinson - Season Five *Cole Harmon - Season Five *Stan Liddy - Season Five *Joe Walker - Season Six References Category:Characters Category:Season 1 characters Category:Season 2 characters Category:Season 3 characters Category:Season 4 characters Category:Main characters Category:Characters from the dexter book series Category:Serial killers Category:Season 5 characters